The cost of dedicated Windows server hosting is set to tumble, thanks to XenSource's support for Windows. That's the claim of UK service provider Memset, which has added Windows to its range of virtual servers.

Intel has earned the right to lay it on four-cores thick. The chipmaker today officially released versions of its four-core server and PC chips. The appearance of the 'Clovertown' and 'Kentsfield' processors gives Intel both a marketing and raw performance edge over AMD, which doesn't plan to fire up its own four-core gear in earnest until 2007. So, those looking for the best of the best will turn to Intel for the time being.

Fujitsu Siemens will launch a desktop package for the UK’s baby boomer generation in January. And when we say baby boomer generation, yes we mean the over 50s who are even now slipping into retirement while humming the Beatles’ greatest hits as they wait for their plastic surgery appointment.

Apple has posted revised firmware for its Intel-based desktop and notebook Macs: the Mac Pro, Mac Mini, iMac, MacBook and MacBook Pro. As usual, the company wasn't explicit in its description of the fixes incorporated in the updates.

Updated[Update: The msfirefox site went offline earlier this morning. Which may or may not have something to do with Microsoft lawyers. Thanks for all the emails and we're sorry for spoiling breakfast for some Mozilla fans.]

AMD today attempted to liven up the world of scientific and engineering computing, launching its first Stream-branded GPU - a graphics chip designed to crunch non-graphical data - and a "thin hardware interface" to go with it dubbed 'Close to Metal' - a sort of Bon Jovi of the chip world.

NASA engineers have not been able to contact the agency's Mars Global Surveyor space craft for more than a week. Speculation is mounting that the craft, which has been in orbit around the red planet for the better part of a decade, might be entering a terminal decline.

Taiwanese optical drive specialist Lite-On IT has launched what it claims is the world's first DVD writer capable of burning discs at 20x speed - less than three months after Sony began shipping the first 18x DVD burner.

Intel has formally announced the end of the Pentium D 950 and 960 processors, company documents seen by Reg Hardware reveal. The Celeron D 315, 320, 325, 330 and 340 are all for the chop too, it seems.

Intel's plan to refresh its Core 2 Duo dual-core processor line in Q2 2007 appears to have been nudged back a quarter, if reports coming out of Asia detailing the chip giant's latest roadmaps are to be believed.

C# has come a long way since it emerged from Microsoft's mythical "Project Cool" back in 2000. It is the primary language of Microsoft .NET, and has pulled ahead of Visual Basic among professional Windows programmers.

Sony has yet to lend its voice to the argument, but independent commentators have claimed the consumer electronics giant sold just shy of 90,000 PlayStation 3 consoles this past weekend. Sony did admit that not all PSOne and PS2 games run on the new machine. Whoops.

Intel appears to have stepped up a notch its plan to ship Pentium chips based on its current desktop Core 2 Duo processor. Originally scheduled to debut as single-core parts, the post-NetBurst Pentiums will now be dualies, according to the chip giant's latest roadmaps.

Averatec has extended its Voya satellite navigation line with a mid-range model pitched at US motorists, hikers and cyclists who want something a little less snazzy looking than the likes of TomTom's Go and Sony's Nav-u

Six major airlines are to fit aircraft passenger seats with iPod docks, Apple announced today. US carriers Continental, Delta and United, along with Air France, Emirates and KLM, will begin adding iPod connectors during the middle of next year.

The University of Warwick is upgrading its email system slightly ahead of schedule after a power outage temporarily downed its Novell GroupWise email system, permanently killing one of the boxes. The outage affected around 3,000 academic staff and critical services accounts.

Trend Micro has a new version of its mobile security software out. Imaginatively named Trend Micro Mobile Security 3.0, it adds a firewall and intrusion detection software - the previous version was antivirus and antispam only.

A diverse group of sexual adventurers and civil libertarians has joined in condemnation of that part of tomorrow's Queen's speech expected to propose banning "extreme porn", because the internet has made it too readily available for some people's tastes.

Spamhaus has published a revised list of the world's 10 worst spammers. According to the anti-spam organisation, 200 professional spam gangs are responsible for 80 per of the high volume of junk mail pumped onto the internet every day.

SC06Microsoft has been knocked here and elsewhere for having puny clusters – the kinds of clusters people wouldn't dare show to the computational fluid dynamics experts in their families. As it turns out, the jabs against Microsoft's wee clusters might be unfair, according to none other than Microsoft.